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It's the perfect time of year for gingerbread cookies, but what do you do with all that excess ginger? Well, maybe put it in a horse's butt? No, no, don't do that. But some people do. All that and more on this week's history of ginger. Show notes

I just returned from five days in New York. I was sad I didn't get to see my pal Charlie Todd, founder of Improv Everywhere (he had late rehearsals), I was delighted when I came home and saw IE's latest mission. They used chalk (the kind that marks playing fields) to denote a local lane and a tourist lane on the NYC sidewalk.

I don't understand why sidewalk etiquette isn't taught in schools. I think it is the number one problem that faces our nation today. The basics are simple. Walk with purpose, keep to the right, don't spread out when in groups, pass on the left, step out of the moving traffic if you're going to stop. I am not above dropping a shoulder when these basics are ignored.

Of course, New York's incredible tourist population and hyper-crowded sidewalks make this all the more important, but I grew up with the same problems in downtown San Francisco. Little did I know that I would one day move to a new city - Los Angeles, where no one has any idea how to walk on a sidewalk at all.

Anyway: great job, IE. Glad to see you working on social justice issues.

Walter Mosley is the author of more than 30 books in a broad variety of genres, but he's best known for his detective fiction. His Easy Rawlins series began with 1989's best-selling Devil in a Blue Dress. His latest series features a new hero, the pugnacious, middle-aged Leonid McGill. He just released the second novel featuring McGill, Known to Evil.

Before he was a novelist, Mosley was a computer programmer. Originally born in Los Angeles, Mosley spent time in the Bay Area before moving to New York City, where the McGill novels are set.

The MaxFunCon podcast continues apace... this time around it's a new video from our friends in the New York sketch group Elephant Larry, who'll be performing at this year's Con. It's a full-length parody of pre-film entertainment called The Wow. You can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to download it to your portable media player. And while you're at it, check out last week's show, an interview I conducted with Merlin Mann.

Elna Baker is a New York-based comedian and writer. Her memoir, "The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance," is about her struggle growing up in the Mormon faith, and living as a practicing Mormon in bohemian New York City. She struggles with her weight, her faith, and her virginity as she balances an artistic temperament with a longing to live a traditional Mormon lifestyle.

Kurt "Explodo" Andersen is going to be at the wonderful Greene Space at WNYC next Tuesday night with the Studio 360 crew for a show about time travel. Guests include the fantastic Janelle Monae and our old pal Mike Daisey. Tickets are $15 and should be well worth it.